--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing I found out was that we need…" description: "\"One thing I found out was that we need extended families. We need gangs. And, of course, if they're tribes and clans and so forth have been dispersed b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/kurt-vonnegut-41_cat_one-thing-i-found-out-was-that-we-need-e_2743889.jpg" --- # One thing I found out was that we need extended families… ![“One thing I found out was that we need extended families. We need gangs. And, of course, if they're tribes and clans and so forth have been dispersed by the industrial revolution by people looking for work wherever they can find it. And a nuclear family, a man, a woman and kids and a dog and cat…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/kurt-vonnegut-41_cat_one-thing-i-found-out-was-that-we-need-e_2743889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/kurt-vonnegut-41_cat_one-thing-i-found-out-was-that-we-need-e_2743889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/kurt-vonnegut-41_cat_one-thing-i-found-out-was-that-we-need-e_2743889.jpg) > “One thing I found out was that we need extended families. We need gangs. And, of course, if they're tribes and clans and so forth have been dispersed by the industrial revolution by people looking for work wherever they can find it. And a nuclear family, a man, a woman and kids and a dog and cat is no survival scheme at all. Horribly vulnerable.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern society’s nuclear family is vulnerable; extended families, tribes, or gangs provide survival and support. **In simple terms:** Extended kinship offers resilience. Key Takeaway Cultivate broader community ties. Themes community survival family structures Mood reflective critical Type sociological philosophical When to use this quote - urban living - migration - social policy Key Concepts sociology collectivism Questions to Reflect On - How can we rebuild community bonds? - What role do extended families play today? A Different Perspective Changing norms may resist tribal concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cat and dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat-and-dog/) [Clans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clans/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Extended Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extended-families-244412/) [Extended family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extended-family/) [Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families/) [Families Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families-need-262597/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang/) [Gangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gangs/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Industrial revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industrial-revolution/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Looking for work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-for-work/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Need Gangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-gangs-1539684/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-families/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Tribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribes/) [Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerable/) ## Related quotes > [ We \[people\] all need each other. Gangs do try to fill that void - but they can't do what healthy, balanced, and coherent families… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/we-people-all-need-each-other-gangs-do-try-to-fill-that-void-but-they/) [Luis J. Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [But anyway, it's obvious through human experience that extended families and tribes are terribly important. We can do without an extended family as human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/but-anyway-it-s-obvious-through-human-experience-that-extended/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I think Willim Shakespeare was the wisest human being I ever heard of. To be perfectly frank though, that's not saying much. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-willim-shakespeare-was-the-wisest-human-being-i-ever-heard-of/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Because everyone grows up together in my small hometown, everyone knows everyone else. And there are such large extended families that a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/because-everyone-grows-up-together-in-my-small-hometown-everyone/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [Friends are the twenty-first-century version of extended families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-heimel/friends-are-the-twenty-first-century-version-of-extended-families/) [Cynthia Heimel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-heimel/) > [It's peaceful to think about the family as a group. I totally believe in extended families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/it-s-peaceful-to-think-about-the-family-as-a-group-i-totally-believe/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [My Open Hearts Family celebrates not only the traditional family but also extended families that we create from the people we open our hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/my-open-hearts-family-celebrates-not-only-the-traditional-family-but/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) > [Recent surveys of Church members have shown a serious erosion in the number of families who have a year's supply of life's necessities. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/recent-surveys-of-church-members-have-shown-a-serious-erosion-in-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [In our prehistoric past, we would have lived in extended families, surrounded by kin whose interests we might have wanted to promote because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-our-prehistoric-past-we-would-have-lived-in-extended-families/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Sixty percent of our immigrants are admitted merely because they have relatives here. Many of these people are not immediate relative, but are part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/sixty-percent-of-our-immigrants-are-admitted-merely-because-they-have/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I grew up in a world that was clannish - old Tasmanian-Irish families with big extended families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/i-grew-up-in-a-world-that-was-clannish-old-tasmanian-irish-families/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Extended families have never been the norm in America; the highest figure for extended-family households ever recorded in Americanhistory is 20 percent. Contrary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/extended-families-have-never-been-the-norm-in-america-the-highest/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [I don't know what happens in other people's extended families but in ours we don't talk about half-brothers or half-sisters. We are whole. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedella-marley/i-don-t-know-what-happens-in-other-people-s-extended-families-but-in/) [Cedella Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedella-marley/) > [Our lifestyle is deeply communal, with extended families traditionally sharing the burdens and bounties of life together, eating meals from the same plate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abiy-ahmed/our-lifestyle-is-deeply-communal-with-extended-families-traditionally/) [Abiy Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abiy-ahmed/) > [With the incredible rate of growth of autism diagnoses in New Jersey, it is critical that we support the research, education, and access to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikie-sherrill/with-the-incredible-rate-of-growth-of-autism-diagnoses-in-new-jersey/) [Mikie Sherrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikie-sherrill/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Cat quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/) [Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-wishes-woman-to-be-peaceable-but-in-fact-she-is-essentially/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) [Browse all 2,996 Cat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One thing I found out was that we need extended families. 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